Well, yes and no: that's why I attempted to edit the thread's title to "Loanword" (singular) from German (see my first post). The pun, such as it is, is on that troubled old grouping "Loan words [plural] from German."

Preliminarily, my brother tells me the term I'm looking for concerning punning across languages is "faux amis." I'm not sure "false friends" quite does it there, but it is involved here. So, here goes

"Loanwords" of "Loanwords from German" directly translates the German term "Leihwort," from "leihen:" "to lend," and "wort". "Lion," clearly latinate, is a near-homophone. Ergo "Loan" word from "German." Of course, the "from German," part is complete nonsense -- and you know my penchant for that.

Loan words are frowned upon by Germans. Presumably, though, "Loewe" (lion) derives from the same Latin, and there are many many acceptable Latinate words in German. So that near the line, I'm not quite sure where they draw it.

Sorry, Liesl, for the torment. This was originally intended as a one-glance post.

Finally, do you know the ditty about Lies[l] waiting for Hans in Pope Benedicts home state of Bayern? If not, I would be happy to deliver yet another torment. ;)

Edit: From my brother's email, an example: Duh is polish for brilliant. Dhoy is Russian for profound.

Now it's my turn to say "ich bin schuldig". I misread the pun. I am not anything like clever enough to have figured out inselpeter's intended pun. I simply thought it was a pun on "loan/loewen", allowing for sloppy mispronunciation of one of the punned words. It seems that straining a word's pronunciation to fit a pun is de rigeur, if the many on this board are any guide, so that's what I thought this pun was.

puns are like a stroll (or a run) through a meadow, or an art gallery; each one leads to something else, perhaps unexpected, with the enjoyment coming from the reactions, some subtle, some not, that one has with each new thought or idea. the path (of thought) taken while one delves into language, and sound, is enjoyable for its own sake.

Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site.
Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to
hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.